An Issuing Bank is the financial institution that issues credit cards directly to the consumer.  An Acquiring Bank is the financial institution that handles the payment card transaction. The Acquiring Bank is the entity responsible for monitoring PCI compliance of its member merchants. Annual PCI Audits are submitted to the Acquiring Bank. Fines for violations are assessed by the PCI Council to the Acquiring bank which will in turn pass them to the offending merchant. Intersec Worldwide can assist the merchant in attaining and maintaining PCI Compliance. We offer training, consulting, remediation and PCI audit services. We can help you with expert direction in all areas of IT security.